Dublin- The greenest green I've ever seen

So, it’s been a few weeks since our trip to Dublin. As you might have guessed we’ve been busy with wedding stuff, Nate’s hands haven’t really been working, and other stuff I can’t even think of right now. Since you’ve all been patiently waiting, I figured I’d do a quick recap before we get too far behind.

We took our first trip out of a new Ryan Air airport in Memmingen, about 2 and a half hours from our house and 1 hour west of Munich. The airport was very small, but we got through quickly. We saw many other Americans heading out to Dublin for the Memorial weekend as well. While waiting in the airport we were asked if we were ‘from the island.’ Didn’t think we looked that Irish, especially since between the two of us, I don’t think we have a drop of Irish. The plane came and everyone rushed to the line. We bought a pass to board before everyone else, since Ryan Air has a free for all run to grab a seat kind of excitement included.

We landed in Dublin, grabbed our bags and headed for a taxi to drive us to the hotel. Our driver was nice and mentioned a few place to make sure to see. The hotel looked good from the outside, but our room was hardly big enough for us to both stand in the room with our suitcases at the foot of the bed. We couldn’t even walk around the bed. The bathroom got better; the half shower door thing fell off the wall while showering. But, the staff was nice.

We ventured down to the Liffey River and walked back through the Temple Bar area and checked out the mostly pedestrian area. This is the main street with all the night life and restaurants. There was also a jazz festival going on, so random groups were playing around in little squares.

After wandering around for some time and long lines at many restaurants, we settled for some Chinese, which left something to be desired. We wandered down towards the Grafton shopping area for some night pictures and headed back to the hotel to have a rested day on the bus tour.
Saturday started out well. It seemed that we wake up before most people, since the road were a bit quiet starting out. We wandered down Dame Street to our bus pick up spot. Off we were on a big green bus to begin our tour of Dublin. The bus driver was awesome. He sang songs, told crazy stories, and made you feel welcome to the city. Since this was our Hop on, Hop off tour, we stopped at the Kilmainham Gaol first; it was the farthest place from our hotel.

Kilmainham Gaol, was a prison built in 1789 to replace an old dungeon type jail and offered single rooms to try and reform prisoners into not wanting to reoffend. It didn’t really work and became overcrowded and found many people committing crimes to have food during the famine. Several people trying to fight for Ireland’s freedom were also incarcerated here, including Joseph Plunkett, who was married to Grace Gifford the night before he was executed. We had a great tour guide here, and learned a lot about the history of Ireland, very interesting.

We completed the tour and decided to head back to the Guinness Storehouse and our free pint. We walked, as I didn’t think it was too far away. We walked more than a few blocks, but the pint was worth it. We bypassed the tours and crowds and headed straight to the Gravity Bar. I don’t really like Guinness, but if ever in Ireland again; I’d have to have one. It’s so dang good! We enjoyed with some guys from France and decided to have lunch in the restaurant a few floors below.

It was time for more of our bus tour, so we waited at the stop outside the storehouse. Would you believe there were Germans that came and waited behind us, only to push in front of us to get on the bus while they were helping a man in a wheelchair off the bus? Of course, just like back in Germany, which I thought we were trying to escape. So, our new bus was not as fun, all the information was recorded and monotone. It was good we were off to the Jameson Distillery. We found it down a few streets from our stop, although the line was long for a tour. We skipped the tour and Nate got a coffee with Jameson whisky and sugar. The sugar was good at the end.
We walked back to the Temple Bar area again and in light rain, the busses were all full. We looked for a pub to duck into, but alas, this side of the river had no pubs to be found. Strange for what we thought about Dublin.

We wandered back to our side and down Dame Street. We came to a pub and went in to enjoy the atmosphere. After finishing our first beers, we found the place starting to fill up and the TVs were all switched to rugby pregame interviews and game recaps. The place was packed as the rugby game started, so we decided to stay and join the festivities. The beers kept coming and they even brought out snacks for all the fans. The game was between Ireland and England, we cheered for Ireland. Ireland scored, the crowd roared, and Leinster Ireland won the Heineken Cup.

Our last full day in Dublin, began quiet again. We walked down to Trinity College to check out the Book of Kells. Here we found the greenest grass we'd ever seen. It looked fake and almost neon in color. Since the college didn't open till noon, we decided to come bakc later. Things are open on Sundays, just not before 10, and the college till noon. We wandered to Grafton Street for more pictures, then to St. Stephen’s Green. A nice walk around the park and back to the St. Stephen's Green Mall, so see the architecture, similar to the Gaol, and get a few souvenirs. This was our day to hit up the Boxty House for lunch. They serve a large potato pancake with meat surprises in the middle as a specialty called the Boxty. Found a recipe for these. They are sooooo good.

We rounded out our last night with some Celtic music and Riverdance. We were sat at a table between Americans from Virginia and Germans. It’s always interesting who you run into or can’t get away from while you’re traveling. The band started playing music about halfway through dinner, the guys were really funny. Then dancers came out moved their legs so fast for 30 minutes that no picture has them not blurry. The Legends of Tara singing group came back out for another hour, but stopped early, because they close bars early on Sundays. It was a great show and very entertaining.

We came back late Monday to an empty house with work and Osu waiting for us the next day. I’d like to go back to Ireland, but it won’t be to Dublin. Next time, I want to see the pretty countryside.

Reservations for Dublin made!

Dawn and I have been going back and forth on where to go over the Memorial Day weekend for months now. Finding 130 Euro R/T tickets for the two of us to Dublin pretty much sealed the deal on that.

In preparation for this trip, I've decided to apply for a European concealed weapons permit so that I can be more prepared - just in case someone tries to use my face for batting practice again. Since it is well-known around the world that all Americans are rednecks, sleep with their hunting rifles and can shoot a fly off a fence post at 100 paces, I should have no problem getting this permit. Once awarded, the European Council of Self Defense and Alternative Weaponry (ECSDAW) will present me with a choice as to what type of weapon I would like to carry. The types of weapons offered change over time. In the past I've heard that such things as sharpened paper clips, 3 year old sticks of gum, emory boards and hardened clumps of mud have been some of the top articles picked for personal protection. I'm afraid that nowdays, the pickings may be even slimmer. A wadded up piece of paper may be all I can use, but I'll have to be careful. If the paper gets even the slightest bit wet and therefore heavier, I could be the one charged with assault when fighting off a mugger.

But, I digress. We're going to Dublin - Home of the Leprechaun, the place where potatoes were invented, and most importantly, the home of Guinness Beer. I've never told anyone this before, but I really hate Guinness. Hate it. I think it is one of the worst drinks out there. I'd rather drink Miller Lite. I'd rather take a 3 hour bike ride on a 100 degree day and then squeeze the sweat from my socks in to a cup and chug it rather than drink a pint of Guinness. I have kept this opinion to myself for years and years but I don't know if I can keep it to myself while in Dublin. Another reason for my applying for a European concealed weapons permit. I think the Irish may take their beer more seriously than the Canadians. Yikes.

In all honesty, we're really looking forward to the trip and have been wanting to visit Dublin for some time now. We'll definitely be putting plenty of pictures up when we get back!